There are many other avenues to feed the family other than stealing. If you use that argument, then the person will have to gauge how much is enough to steal to feed his family.

Stealing for greed is inexcusable in any context..but who determines "need" versus "greed" ? One man may be happy with little, another may not. Thus to one man, it may be "need",while others look at it as simply "greed"

In life there is nothing absolute good or absolute bad. Its always shades of grey and hence its not the action but the motive which plays the role in deciding the consequences of a deed. That do not give one freedom to justify every thing, but one, from the core of his heart, after listening to his conscience should decide to opt for the most ethical step.

do motives change actions? probably not in a court of law. society will have its own sets of predetermined values. in america we dress in black and are sad with tears and somber at a funeral-in central america there is a party, colorful dress, music in celebration for them spending time with us on their journey. both parties likely believe in "the after life" of some sort, but have polar opposites of the same thing. while in you questions case, stealing may be a short term solution for a temporary situation, long term and habitually it is a dead end road that leads to the same predictable place. in the end, it may take work to "find the form", but everything is equally balanced instantaneously, seeing the form is the trick of life to maintain our own balance.

It's a slippery moral slope for this one. It begs the question, are you stealing for your family because it is the only means, or simply the easiest? Even greedy people take care of their families, but it doesn't make it right. As for me, I know that there is absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for my family. I've waited and bussed tables on the side to make extra money, I've sucked up my pride and borrowed from people I trust when the time came for it, and I've engaged in a little backroom bartering for necessities. I'm not saying that times are always tough for us. We've had plenty of times when we were doing well enough to be the ones helping out others. So far, I've been fortunate to find ways to support my family in tough times honestly. Would I steal if that were the only way? Absolutely. Would it be right to do so? probably not, and that is a moral dilemma I would have to face for myself.

Yes, stealing to feed one's self and/or one's family should have the exact same harsh consequences as stealing for greed.

In fact, for quite a number of years, I have been working as a volunteer to assist homeless men. And one thing that I have learned is the following:

A considerable number of the filthy and unkempt homeless individuals who can be seen in the streets all over the country are in such bad shape because they cannot bring themselves to commit crimes to get by.

For me it isn't a simple answer. I too would do anything for my family to make sure they are able to get by. I do think intentions matter and that steeling bread to feed your family should be weighted lighter than stealing jewelry to pay for vacations. However, where I am torn is that although steeling out of true nessesity could be condoned, the party stolen from is still "harmed" despite the intentions. I hope to never be in the cirumstance where I have to make a decision to do something illegal to keep my family afloat.

in the eyes of the law then yes the consequences should be the same. the law doesn't recognize the difference between stealing pills to sell for cash and stealing pills so grandma's heart doesn't stop. for those of you who have seen the movie "John Q" with Denzel Washington, is what he did wrong? He held an entire hospital hostage so his son could survive. He had exhausted every other possibility. "Right" and "Wrong" are all open to interpretation.

In the US, legally, no--the consequences are not equal. The person stealing for greed tends to already have money for their defense and ends up with a comparatively lighter sentence while the poor person faces a comparatively higher one. Even if the person who stole to feed their family doesn't serve prison time, the time spent in court can cause them to lose whatever job they already have, thus driving the family further into poverty.

A simple "slap on the wrist" can still mean 5 to 10 court appearances if it happens in the wrong court district, if not time spent in jail waiting to be formally charged, which can take months!

And after these two individuals have been freed from their crime (dismissed, time served, etc), the rich person can often go back into his society without a problem, while the poor person is often labeled a thief whenever it comes up during a job interview, even 20 years later.

There are mega churches all over America. There are some who accuse these churches of deliberately stealing parishioners from smaller churches and that it is the pastor's celebrity these people are drawn too. Do you...